Very cute story! I especially loved the pictures and expressions on all of the animals in the story. It's a topic most kids can relate to (first day jitters) but I loved how Robin was able to overcome this and the moral of the story.

Thought it was very cute though not incredibly original. Kids will enjoy though it could easily get lost among other books very similar to it.

I'm a preschool teacher and this books is so sweet and the perfect book to read for the first day of school! I loved the illustrations and loved the story. So many of my preschoolers are so nervous to start the day, but don't want to leave at the end of the day!

Adorable book with great illustrations. It's a tale about a little bird about to go to school and the excitement and fear that comes with the first day of school. Great book to read to children who are about to attend school or kindergarten for the first time!

Great book especially if your little one is getting ready to go to school like my daughter. I loved how the entire day at school was described in detail. The illustrations are beautiful and very detailed. My favorite was the one where they are eating lunch together. It was so cute to see that each animal had their specific lunch. My children loved it and identified with the little animals and their experience going to school.

This book was filled with beautiful illustrations but other than that it was pretty average in story telling. There was nothing to unique about the plot, I do think it is good at displaying a school day schedule. I did not like that the author neglected to give the teacher a name, as Robin just kept calling them "ma'am"which was odd. Also I think Robin would have benefitted to at least showing some type of interaction with another character or making a friend on the first day.

This was a really cute story. Young Robin is going to school for his first day. He is not sure what to expect and is worried. He asks his mom to come back soon to get him. His teacher takes him in hand, introduces him to some friends and gets him involved in activities. It is not long until Robin is having so much fun, he doesn't want to go home. My granddaughter really identified with all the activities that Robin was involved in, even though she was not at school much this year due to the pandemic. Esther Van Den Berg personified the animals in many ways, but also kept many of their characteristics such as what they ate, the way they could move etc. The illustrations were really well done. The animals looked real and even their sizes were in ratio to one another. Their expressions showed the joy they were having at school and there was a lot of detail in the pictures to talk about. I can see this book being used in many homes as children prepare to return to in-person learning next September.

Lovely illustrations and great to use for children who are nervous or anxious about starting school - it links to the fun things that happen at nursery/school and the routine of the day plus reminding the children that they will still get to go home at the end of the day.

It's Robin's first day of school and he's determined that he is NOT GOING IN! That is, until Mom tells him he has no choice. Reluctantly, Robin agrees. But, he vows. He's just going to look around. He's definitely not going to have any fun!
It's a tale that probably sounds familiar to any parent that has been through school drop-off, and may sound like one new parents are dreading. But the good news is, as all of our own children do, Robin also finds that school is pretty fun, after all.
First Day of School by author/illustrator Esther Van den Berg is a great introduction to the first day of school for little ones nervous about entering a new environment. The school day is broken up event by event to make each page (and each part of school) feel manageable, and even covers the dreaded need to go to the bathroom!
Beautiful art perfectly complements the story, encouraging kids to really focus on the entire story to find out what Robin is up to and how he's enjoying himself.
A must-read for any child heading to preschool or kindergarten for the first time this fall.
A big thanks to Clavis for the early read. Check it out yourself on July 13!

What I like about this book is first the color and fun artwork, but more that there is no fear. Robin doesn’t want to go to school, but they are not afraid to go to school. Then they get so involved in what is going on in class they don’t want to go home. This book is not saying “don’t be afraid, school is fun” it’s just saying that there is lots to do and you might enjoy it if you give it a chance. Just like this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for making this review possible.

An excellent history for young children, where they show a school day through some animals, doing activities for children

I liked the illustrations, but over all it was just another first day of school story. I thought the the language was a bit stilted for a preschool child- who says Ma'am?? Also, all they did was play all day! Where's the story time? The learning? Singing? Preschool and kindergarten were way more that play even 60 years ago. But if a starting school book is needed for a collection, I suppose it would do. Just know, I don't think many kids are going to sit through it's telling.

Colorful illustrations. Good book to introduce toddlers to what their first day of school could be like. I would use this book as that type of introduction for my own child. Get them prepared for the fun they’ll have!

Such a cute story!! My kids loved the illustrations. All of the animals were so cute. It was a great story about being nervous about the first day of school but then showing how much fun it actually is. We always read these types of stories before our first day of school. Would definitely recommend to others.

Do you know someone whose child will be starting nursery school or a play group this fall? If you do, take a look at this title. It will help to alleviate any apprehensions that kids feel about that strange new place.

I love the animal characters in this book; I think that they make the story more approachable than one with children in it. Plus, the illustrations are just incredibly adorable.

Robin doesn’t want to go to school but…by the end of his time there, Robin does not want to go home.

American readers may find it strange that the teacher is called ma’am but that is my only quibble with this sweet title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I love when books show kids that school will be fun. I personally was never the kind of child who didn't want to go to school, but I feel this would ge good to read to preschoolers or kindergarteners who may have some first day jitters

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review

A beautifully illustrated book which shows How the life in school can be! It's particularly interesting because various birds and animals have been characterized giving it a unique touch!
Totally recommended for young kids and parents!

Thank you #netgalley for indulging my teacher heart with this one.
This book had super cute woodland creatures; I'm really into that. I'm also always on the lookout for 'back to school' books for my classroom, so this one caught my eye. It's about a robin named Robin (don't we love to see it in children's books?) and she's really scared about going to school, but there are fun things to do all day and pretty soon it's time to go home. Spoiler alert-she loves school and wants to come back again! It's just the right message we want to teach kids who have school anxiety and need some reassurance that they will be ok in our classroom.

I liked the illustrations and the sound effects, but the writing was a bit, meh. I don't know how realistic the dialogue and voice of the characters were; lots of "ma'am" and "may I." This could totally be realistic for kids 4-6 in certain regions of the country, but not where I'm from. It bugged me that there was a line in the book about the pig choosing the puzzle to play with, but it was completely absent in the picture. Picture/print matching is huge for littles/emergent readers, so this just irked me. My opinion is that this is definitely suited for 4 y.o. (like the author indicates) and even younger, but you're almost pushing it with 6 or 7 y.o.'s (especially with the potty). Sidenote-There still seems to be a bit of editing needed (I'm still very new to ARCs and don't know how 'ready-to-print' these should be). Overall, it was adorable and cute, but it's still missing something to become a favorite on my classroom shelf.

The illustrations were fun and colorful, perfect for a picture book. The book tells the story of a young Robin and his first day of school. I would have preferred the bunny pellets left out of the bathroom scene so that kind of put me off but kids might find it funny.

This was such a cute picture book!

It follows the main character Robin who is going to school for the first time, He initially doesn’t want to go to school but quickly warms up to it! This would be a great book to read to a child who might be nervous about going to school for the first time,

I loved the beautiful illustrations and all of the colors. There were so many small details that I really enjoyed, from how different animals had lunches appropriate for what type of animal they were to the funny and cute inclusion of a smaller toilet for the tiny animals. The formatting of the ARC did make it a little bit difficult to read but I still enjoyed my reading experience!